Brian Palmer here. Last time I was with you, I talked about the importance of making sure your industry speakers know why they were invited, what you want them to do, what you want them to talk about and how you want their session to go.

Today I want to recommend that you provide your industry speakers with an opportunity to improve their presentation—some sort of a coach or an online tool. Skillshare has all sorts of public speaking classes that people can take. Make sure that people are going to be up to the task.

Industry speakers are often things that nobody else can give your attendees. So it’s wise to put some time and effort into telling them what you want them to do, but also give them some educational opportunities to make sure that they deliver a high quality product at your event.

Brian Palmer here to talk about variety being the spice of a meeting. When you have a speaker that goes over well, there’s often a desire to bring in a similar speaker for this year’s event. I think it’s wise to go afield from the speaker that you had before. If you bring in the same sort of speaker, chances are it’s going to be compared to last year’s big success. It’s often difficult for somebody this year to compare favorably to last year’s success. I believe you should go pretty far afield from the success that you had last year. Bring somebody different in. Appeal to a different sensibility, and I think the odds of your event being well-received go up.

Every day we read another article or media post about this new-networked world we live in. Digitally charged and hyper connected, it grants access to information and influence, innovation and collaboration. They say the future of work is here and now.

However, what’s often overlooked is that the structures and the culture of the hierarchy still exist. And these two worlds are at battle with each other, though most of us are completely unaware of it.

A diagram of each is below.

My friends, we are living in a half-changed world.

The modern workplace, as progressive as it thinks it is, still holds tight to unwritten rules of the hierarchy; rules around communication and etiquette, policies and procedures.

For example, one of the most well-known and universally understood unwritten rules is: Don’t go above your boss’s head!

However, as the workforce of the future continues to flood the ranks of organizations, it’s becoming clear they do not see the world through the same lens. In fact, they’re unaware of most of the unwritten rules that are so innately understood by more experienced generations. They are, in truth, living in the network.

These two worlds are playing out in every single organization today.

Unfortunately, neither side really understands the other and the rules they’re playing by, which creates massive tension. I think it’s time to have some honest conversations about what this transformation means for our cultures.

It’s time to shine a light on our unwritten rules and decide which we want to keep and which we’re ready to let go of as we step forward into this new world of work. Because it’s not about out with the old and in with the new. To win in this new half-changed world requires us to meet people where they are, without losing who we are.

Seth Mattison is an internationally renowned expert on workforce trends and generational dynamics

Brian Palmer here. We get to see a great many speaker evaluations and commonly, people say things on there like, “I had never heard of this speaker before, but boy, was she good! That was the highlight of the conference.”

We’ve often suggested that people, when they’ve never heard of the speaker, are delighted when that speaker does a particularly good job. We think it’s wise to hire really good speakers who might not be well known. They tend to cost a great deal less and create a particularly happy audience.

Satisfaction is somewhat a function of expectations, and when expectations aren’t particularly high, audiences find themselves particularly satisfied. I heard about this study that was done: “On the road to happiness, a pleasant surprise beats a sure thing.” That was the Washington Post article about the study which essentially said that audiences are particularly delighted when they get an unexpected surprise. I’ve got a link to the article below. You might want to read it and make sure that when you hire no-name speakers, they’re really good and you will particularly delight your group.

MPI’s Magazine, The Meeting Professional, recently featured an article written by Brian Palmer, CMM, President of National Speakers Bureau.

In this piece, he puts forth the notion that a process to prepare speakers should be in place for everyone who is to present, even those who might be appearing as a favor or in support of their own cause. It remains your event, and the odds of their talk achieving your objectives go up when your management is consistent.

Today’s topic is lighting. We actually do a good bit of our listening with our eyes. We take meaning from a person’s expression and the way they’re using their hands. If you can’t see their face and if you can’t almost read their lips, it’s harder to get some of the subtle meanings. So, it’s important to have the space where your speaker is appearing be well lit so audiences can see them well.

I think that’s one of the things that drove the advent of image magnification – so that a speaker’s face was a lot bigger, and they could see the speaker. And when he or she might wink at an audience or make a subtle move, the speaker can be seen better – a lot better – on your screen.

Contract riders have a lot more to do than with blue M&M’s. It’s usually a list of things that need to be in place that help the performer do his very best.

I think it’s a very good idea to have your own rider of sorts. You might not want to call it that, but I think it’s wise to have a list of things you want speakers to do and things you want to happen at your event – things based on history that will help the session go well, things like a speaker not talking about their books too much in their presentation or arriving at a certain time in the day. You can learn every time you book a speaker, refine that list, and implement it every time you book somebody new to increase the likelihood that your objectives are met.